Penang Island Waste Transfer Station

Penang Island Waste Transfer Station, initiated by Penang Island City Council (MBPP), is an integrated solid waste-managing facility located beside the Penang Second Bridge. The facility is greatly characterised by its spritely statement of dynamic building form, with corrugated metal cladding as the building envelope. Up and running for more than 5 years, the facility serves as a transit point for garbage trucks to unload few hundred tonnes of domestic and bulk waste daily, before waste is densely packed into silos and being sent off to landfill.

Located within Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, the facility’s design strives to reshape the usual mundane and orthogonal appearance of industrial buildings, displaying a transformative approach to its built form. The outcome is a facility that blends harmoniously with the surrounding, the sea and the bridge - a place that speaks of its own identity.

The dynamic form of the building is achievable with the use of steel structure and metal cladding. As the site is next to marine influence, Clean COLORBOND® XRW steel is used for its durable quality, resisting corrosion and repelling dirt naturally with rainfall. The colors of the steel are carefully selected to complement the building form, creating a captivating design that will last for a long time. With corrugation, COLORBOND® steel is malleable and easily formed into desired shapes as required.

At the waste transfer station, the brief calls for a visitors’ corridor that goes along the operation spaces, offering views to the unloading and docking process. Cylindrical volumes inspired by the silo, house the visitors’ corridor and appear contrasting against the façade of COLORBOND® steel in ‘Gun Metal Grey’. The corridor is encapsulated by the vivid COLORBOND® steel in ‘Sunflower Gold’, which is simply bended to open up and close in the views towards the operation spaces, as well as the surrounding. The variation of geometrical volumes made possible with metal cladding, fosters different degrees of natural daylighting into the space throughout the day. The shades on the corrugated COLORBOND® steel create different moods and ambience.

At the green waste building that handles bulk waste, the notion of dynamism is portrayed by the idea of progressiveness. The street elevation is a series of protrusive and recessive bays, alternating colors with COLORBOND® steel in ‘Torres Blue’ and ‘Off White’. This building is gutter-less and discharges the rainwater effortlessly with its curvaceous form, aided by vertical corrugation of crimp-curved COLORBOND® steel. Internally, the 10m-tall building is column-free in the centre, allowing trucks to move around freely. Natural daylighting is introduced into the space with transparent roofing sheets. At the gable end, views are opened up towards the greywater pond, veiled by corrugated acrylic sheets and embellished cross-bracing metal members for translucency.

Most of the roofing used on site is COLORBOND® steel in ‘Off White’ that has a high Solar Reflectance Index to comply with Green Building requirements. The only roofing with COLORBOND® steel in ‘Sunflower Gold’ houses the leachate treatment plant, with an undulating roofscape that is made of convex and concave, creating a wave effect. An interesting juxtaposition of forms is crafted, displayed by the wavy roof and the tensile force of the steel columns, referencing from the Penang bridge and the sea.

The waste transfer station, with its dynamic gesture of volumetric expression significantly characterised by metal cladding, implies that building typology could transcend beyond its typical built form. By responding to specific programmatic and site conditions, the facility promotes plurality in both typological and social acts – the outcome is a space that is turned inside-out, being functional as well as giving back to the public.